The Amazing Empath Detective Kankri Vantas!
by MilaGold
Summary: Kankri has kept his gift a secret for his entire life; but right now, he is faced with a problem that might need his empath abilities to be resolved, before an innocent life is lost. Will he accomplish his mission without failing his university entrance exam? Will he keep his focus on the case, and away from Cronus' ass? Only one way to find out! /HUMANSTUCK
1. Case 1

**The Amazing Empath Detective Kankri Vantas -First Case-**

It was certainly a messy situation. The shoe, the broken glass, the wet floor. A few drops of blood here and there. And, to top it all off, a very discontent Kankri Vantas, observing its every detail.  
"So? Wwhat d'ya think?", a low and evidently amused voice sounded behind him, reminding Kankri of the fact that he was very much not alone. "Think ya knoww wwhat wwent dowwn in here?". The man puffed on his cigarette like it was no one's business, not minding at all that they were still within school grounds.  
"Surely you do not believe the rummors, do you, mister Ampora?", Kankri grunted his response with a roll of the eyes, "I have no such thing as 'psychic powers', so I can't truly know what happened in here by just looking at it".  
"Oh, but you'vwe got a good head ovwer those firm shoulders o'yours", had he just chuckled?, "I don't think there's such a thing as superpowwers, but I knoww a smart enough guy could figure this out. And I'vwe been told you're one of the smartest ones 'round here".  
Kankri shifted uncomfortably. He knew about Cronus Ampora's reputation alright, and he didn't want to be sucked in by his charms. He truly had a way with people, as arrogant as he obviously was, and that was probably the reason why he had been assigned with the task of recruiting the cancer for this school-age detectivesque ordeal.

A little context might be useful for what the rest of the story will present us with. Kankri Vantas was a slightly normal young man, attending his last year of high school. He had a father and a younger brother, with whom he didn't really have much of a healthy relationship, sadly. He was planning to major in Social Studies, and could not wait to leave the hell that had been high school buried deep behind in his past. He had no real friends, no relationships, no interest other than his blog and many social causes no one dared to ask him about, because of his tendency to babble about them for hours. Also, he was an empath.  
_'A what?'_, the reader must be wondering. It's pretty simple, actually; Kankri was able to know and even feel what others were feeling, by just standing close to them. Sometimes, when he was specially sensitive, he could even see images from the mind of a person he'd touch. This handy little ability of him had brought him many troubles in the past, and now, standing at the entrance of that classroom, he understood it had been too long since the last time that'd happened; he was long overdue.

"I'm afraid there isn't much I can do", Kankri lied with expertise, "but I don't really see the problem. Some students must have gotten into a fight here, there is not much of a mystery".  
"So, you're tellin' me some students must hawve slipped inside the school at night, in the middle of their summer vwacation, only to have a fight and leave, managin' not to appear in the vwigilance's tape? Just because?", he could _feel_ Ampora raising an eyebrow in that cocky way he had of telling you you were absolutely fucking wrong.  
"Maybe", Kankri shrugged, "I really don't see the need to think to much about-"; his sentence was cut mid-way by his yelping. Cronus had placed a hand on his shoulder in what he had probably intended to be a serious attempt to talk to him. But it was right then that Kankri could not control his brain, and ended up getting into Ampora's.  
He saw a younger Cronus yelling at him. No, it was someone else. His little brother, or cousin, maybe? His words seemed to be coming from far, far away, and he could barely hear anything over the persistent sound of rain this memory carried with it. Soon, it changed to the sight of a letter written entirely with letters that were obviously cut off from magazines and newspapers. He couldn't focus very well, because his sight was blurry, and there were tears pouring out of his eyes; angry tears of worry. He could see something about a ransom, but the vision changed before he could make sense of anything else. He was talking on the phone, and now he was looking at Kankri himself from the side, with mixed feelings of lust, and worry for someone else on the other hand.

When he opened his eyes, he was laying on the floor.

"VWANTAS!"

* * *

Heya! Mila here. I felt like doing this, finally, so, yeah. This will consist of very short chapers, so I might update often. I hope you like this jumpstart, and that you'll continue reading! Thanks for checking this out :)

I do not own Homestuck, duh.

_-Mila._


	2. Case 1-2

"Normal people don't just pass out like that", Cronus repeated, yet again, as they sat down in a coffee shop he'd managed to bring Kankri over in the last ten minutes.  
_'Then it is only your fault, for assuming I am anything remotely close to normal'_, Kankri would have loved to reply, but he didn't have that kind of confidence with this greaser-wannabe just yet. "That is not a very nice thing to say to those of us who DO, in fact, 'just pass out like that'. We are as normal as you consider yourself to be, nevermind our low blood pressure, and would like to be treated in a likely fashion, thank you very much",  
"Wwell excuse me, princess", he rolled his eyes, as Kankri's eyebrow twitched. He did not appreciate being treated with such a condescending tone of voice, "I'm just sayin', you should'vwe told me you wwere not feelin' wwell".  
The funny thing was that, although he was doing his very best not to demonstrate it, Kankri knew Cronus had actually worried a lot about his well-being; which is why his mind showed him things that worried him at the time as well. The empath felt tempted to allow some compassion to slip through, but just then Ampora started trying to flirt with their unfortunate waitress, and that only made Kankri want to torture him further.

After several minutes of silence, their order arrived. Once his green tea fumed softly in front of him, and Cronus finished adding his preferred amount of sugar to his cappuccino, Kankri cleared his throat to get the attention back to his person.  
"Wwhat?", he was asked, and he needed to sigh and to look for strength within the deepest parts of his being to continue with this unwanted conversation.  
"This might feel a little more forward than you would appreciate at the moment, and I do apologize if I were to cause you any psychological strain with this line of conversation, but I think you will understand that I cannot simply stay quiet after the interest you've showed in the classroom, and how insistent you are that I take on the unpleasant duty of clarifying what 'went down' in there, as you so nicely put it. In lieu of all this, please forgive that I ask; what IS exactly your connection to all this? And, if you don't mind, why did you come to me instead of reaching out to the police?".  
Cronus remained stunned for a few seconds, for what Kankri would have loved to believe was a sudden awe for his linguistic habilities -he could tell, however, that he was doing his best not to laugh out loud. How nice of him.  
"I'm- pfft- sorry", he took a few breaths to calm himself down, as Kankri looked away, his pale cheeks now flushing fervently. "Just, you really livwe up to your reputation, huh? But nevwermind that, I'm dropping it. You can stop glaring at me, yes. Uh, wwhat wwas the question again? I got lost in your little monologue".  
"Your connection to the case, and-".  
"Right! Wwell, I can't tell you a lot about it. But you should knoww that the police can't interfere in wwhatevwer wwe do. I'm, uh, looking for someone. And I think he might'vwe been in that classroom last night".  
"How could you possibly hear about this incident before the police were called?", Kankri wondered out loud, as he sipped from his tea. Delicious.  
"You should not underestimate the mafia's net of information... Wwhat? Don't act surprised, evweryone knowws that my dad is the boss of the underground 'round here, and you do too", he felt annoyed, and a hint of shame peeked from beneath it.  
"It's simply surprising to hear you saying it out loud. I am well aware that you tend to loosely deny any connection with the crime business whenever you are asked", he replied in a light manner, trying not to poke the bear.  
"Yeah wwell, denying it doesn't make it any less true... Before you ask, yes, I think this has to do wwith my family's enemies... Listen", he leaned forward, and Kankri retreated a little to avoid any unwanted contact. Cronus' emotions seemed to be stronger than he was used to, and he felt quite drawn to immersing his mind fully in the Acquarius'. But that was dangerous and, honestly, quite inconvenient for the time being. "Listen, I knoww that this can be vwery dangerous... My dad's enemies are pretty sick in the head and wwon't hesitate to harm you if they think you're a threat, but... I heard about you, ok? And I'm sure you can do this... So please... Please help me savwe Eridan".

Darn his imperious need to answer to any conceivable cry for help. He couldn't say no to those sad purple eyes.  
"...what do you have so far?".


	3. Case 1-3

These were the facts, in chronological order, and according to Cronus Ampora.

_Saturday 11th_  
_-1500hs Eridan Ampora, Cronus' little brother, goes out with three friends, and they are seen at the mall. Witnesses can place them there up to 1600 hours._  
_-1750hs Eridan calls home from a private number and announces he will dine outside._  
_He doesn't come home that night._

_Sunday 12th_  
_-0300hs Cronus wakes up to pee. Eridan was not back yet._  
_-0800hs Ampora Sr. finds a note over Eridan's bed._  
_They search frenetically for the rest of the day._

_Monday 13th_  
_-0902hs Cronus knocks on my door and brings me to the classroom where his informants told him he could find a clue._

* * *

"In other words, and I apologize if this causes any strain in your already over-stressed psyche... I have nothing to work with", Kankri frowned and said, once he was done writing on his notepad. Yes, he carries a notepad and a mechanical pencil with him at all times. No, it's not weird. "One would think that the youngest son of a mafia boss would be put under more security measures, but this..."  
"Eridan is a pretty difficult kid, ok? He and my father don't get along too wwell, and evwer since our mother died he hasn't talked to either of us and awwful lot", regret and worry tainted every word that came out of his mouth, and Kankri had to do his very best not to let Cronus' emotions take control of his mind.  
"Well we are in luck then, because according to this, he has friends of his own. We should go talk to them asap. They could help us fill in the blanks in our line of events", he couldn't help but say this hoping it would reassure Cronus. His worry for Eridan was sincere, and that made him a little more humane.  
Kankri himself knew what worrying over one's siblings was.

They paid for their breakfast, and exited the bar with a new goal in mind. Cronus felt more focused as he lead Kankri through the streets of their beautiful city, towards their first destination.  
"Ampora, there is something we should discuss before I talk to any witness",

Kankri spoke clearly, and evidently caught his companion off-guard, because his mind told him he was pretty confused.  
"Your payrate?", he asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"What- I- No!", the empath stopped to massage his template. He'd never been paid for doing this before, and he certainly wouldn't start with such a sensitive case as this, "no, I mean... If you will, and I realize this might not be a very suitable topic to discuss out in the open like this, but I don't think we have another choise taking into consideration the fact-".  
"Vwantas. Just tell me already".  
That comment was followed by a sudden block of silence. Kankri opened his eyes like plates and looked at the taller man, a mix of rage and bewilderment creeping around his red-like iris. "Did... Did you just interrupt me?".

The rest of the walk Kankri spent his time muttering outraged complaints under his breath, as he felt Cronus' psyche feel more and more uncomfortable around him.


	4. Case 1-4

That was how, because of his stubbornness, Kankri forgot to question Cronus about his family's enemies, to think of possible culprits. So far he didn't have enough pieces to clearly see the full picture, so every single bit of information counted. It was already too late to undo his hard-headed tracks once they had arrived at wherever Cronus had brought him to.  
"Ok, I should probably warn you beforehand, chief", the taller one stopped on his tracks, and Kankri almost collided against him. Cronus turned around to give the amateur detective that look he had shown back at the cafe: he was being serious about something. "This guy is one of Eridan's, uh, closest people. They are close. Like, really, very close".  
A silence took place for a few seconds, and Kankri guessed he was being expected to ask. Sigh. "How close?".  
"REALLY close", he seemed satisfied now, "and he still doesn't know about the whole... You know, kidnapping business". That made Kankri think of something that probably should've ocurred to him before. He almost wanted to facepalm over how careless he'd been.  
"Ampora... Are you trying to keep the full length of the matter undercovered? Because I do not know how much I will be able to ask this person in a natural way, if I can't mention the fact that his 'really close friend' has gone missing", not to mention, he wasn't very happy with having to keep information a secret.  
"No! Ok, let me tell you this, in a very clear way: NO ONE can hear a THING about this, capice? I don't even wanna /think/ about what would happen if the word got around, no", he was shaking his head in a way that made his hairstyle look unnaturally still.  
"But if I can't tell /anything/ to /anyone/, then how am I supposed to convince the suspect to tell me about the day of the events?".

* * *

"A robbery at the mall!? That day!?", Sollux Captor was quite the energetic young man when faced with unusual situations. He was tall and skinny, languid even, but he had his own peculiar attractives. For one, he was a prodigy at computer science, not to mention an over-all mathematical genius, and quite the funny individual. But, as many with a priviledged mind, he was cynical and mostly terribly bitter. It had been hard to convince him that Kankri was looking after 'the robber' ("But aren't you Karkat's older and more annoying brother?", Kankri himself wasn't sure how he had gotten past the first instance), but he wasn't the only one with a special talent, and once Kankri understood what his mind reacted to with the most strenght, it was easy to manipulate him towards opening up.  
"I'm afraid so, mr Captor. As you may imagine, and because of the incredibly strange circumstances this was achieved under, the police is keeping the matter hushed for the moment. After all, it's not every day a jewerly store of that size is robbed of its most precious gems without anyone to account for their loss. Such being the case, and to keep the robber under the false belief that he is safe for now so that he lowers his guard, I would appreciate if everything we discussed here would remain under your most sacred silence. Can we count on that, mr Captor?".  
"Yes of course", he swore with a slight lisp, nodding with energy. Kankri could feel how proud he felt of being considered an important enough part of the investigation to be asked for a vow of silence, and that let him double his bet. "Wonderful. In that case, let us begin, shall we?".

"I picked ED from his house at two o'clock, so I'd say we got to the mall he wanted to visit at like three. Of course we /couldn't/ go to the closest one because /there/ they don't have that stupidly /expensive/ brand of scarfs little Ampor-ass wanted, but you know, whatever", he rolled his heterochromic eyes and sighed in exhasperation. Evidently, Eridan and him were close; though it seemed their relationship was a little more complicated than just 'friends'. "Like, I really didn't want to go, cause I don't like malls and all, but ED insisted until the point of absolute ridiculousness", that last word sounded very particular with the young man's subtle lisp on the 's'.  
Kankri limited himself to listening like he actually cared, and guiding the conversation towards the right path when needed.  
"Why would you say that was?".  
"Fuck if I know. He's always like that", he shrugged, "what do you care though?", of course, manipulating a smart man was never an easy task.  
"Curiosity", Kankri shooed the topic away with his hand, and continued before Captor could voice his objection, "was it just the two of you, or did more friends come along?".  
"Hmm... Right! We met up with KK there. He and Strider were waiting for us", Kankri had no idea what those aliases meant, and Sollux was quick to catch on to the fact, "your brother, Karkat. He was there with Dave Strider. You know, his friend from who-knows-where".  
Uh, no, Kankri /didn't/ know who this Dave Strider was, in fact. But he made sure to leave a mental note deep inside his brain to find out everything he could about this new character. From how flustered Sollux had felt when he mentioned his name, he could tell there was something else going on there.  
Finally, it was time for the important questions.  
"Did you see anything abnormal there? Did anyone seem suspicious? Is there anything you would like to mention about that day? Every little piece of information helps, mr Captor, no matter how insignificant you may assume it is". He brought up his hand to scratch his pointy chin, thinking. "I don't think so, no".  
However, lying was not his strongest forte.

After some more chit-chat, Sollux walked them to the door, impatience surrounding his whole being. He felt agitated about something, and Kankri could swear it was because of thought he'd had during the last part of the interview.

_Now, please understand that Kankri Vantas considers himself a fair man. He understands how important privacy can be for everyone, especially the privacy of one's mind. And he would like for all of you to know that, hadn't a life been on the line right that moment, he would have never done what he found himself doing on that doorframe. He would like to also announce that a trigger warning goes here for conscious invasion of a person's brain, and memory browsing. Thank you._

Sollux waved at Cronus at the entrance, but Kankri followed his detective game and offered his hand. Hesitantly, the younger took it, and that's when Kankri could see something else.  
He was at the mall, Eridan by his side. He could hear Karkat yelling about something behind him, and another voice, a calm voice he didn't recognize. Just as they all walked outside and past the parking lots, Eridan stopped. He looked at him thinking of insulting the guy for being so slow, but he suddenly seemed pale. Something was said, but, as per usual in another person's memory, sound seemed to be coming from very far away, and words didn't entirely make sense. Next thing he knew, he was shrugging as Eridan ran back inside for something.

He blinked, and he was back.  
"Vantas, are you ok?".  
"Hm? Oh, yes, sorry, I think I spaced out for a moment. My apologies. Shall we?", and, with that, they left.


	5. I'm so sorry!

Please don't kill me, but I think I'm going to re-write this story in a different way, and upload it to AO3. I'm very sorry!

If you would like to be told when I upload it there, please message me here and I'll make sure to let you know.

Again, my apologies for being so whiny.


End file.
